This invention relates to display of cylindrically shaped products and product containers such as food and candy packages, bottles, cans, tubes and the like. More particularly, it relates to display racks or shelves adapted for mounting on a transparent wall to support the products on and display the products through the transparent wall.
Retail businesses commonly display chilled products on a shelf or rack mounted inside a refrigerated vault or other enclosed area which has a transparent door or wall panel. Because a passing customer is more likely to select and purchase products displayed where they can be readily seen and recognized, the retailer desires to maximize visibility of products on display and also to maximize utilization of space within the vault area.
Many products are essentially elongated cylinders or packaged in substantially cylindrically shaped containers such as bottles, tubes, cans and the like. To promote sales of such products, they should be arranged to permit unobstructed view of the displayed products as well as advertising and identification marks such as brands, logos or the like displayed on the product containers. When such products are suspended on the inside of a door or the like of a refrigerated compartment, they should also be arranged to permit unobstructed view of other products in the refrigerated compartment as well.
In accordance with the present invention a display shelf is provided which employs a vertically arranged support panel for mounting the shelf adjacent a transparent wall or the like. The support panel supports a floor which extends horizontally in a plane intersecting the vertical plane of the support panel. A containment wall spaced horizontally from the transparent wall defines a plurality of semi-circular or arcuate wall sections which cooperate with the floor to support and arrange cylindrically shaped products vertically adjacent the transparent wall. Anchors in the form of resilient tongues or bosses extend from the containment wall toward the transparent wall to urge the cylindrically shaped products toward and into firm contact with the transparent wall. The anchors secure the cylindrically shaped product firmly against the transparent wall to assure that the product is visible through the transparent wall and to prevent rotation of the product about its vertical axis. Preventing rotation of the cylindrical product about its vertical axis assures that product will remain in the position in which it is originally placed for display. Thus, when a product is arranged on the display shelf with a preferred display face visible through the transparent wall, the product will remain in its original position regardless of movement of the transparent wall or the removal or addition of other products from or to the shelf. Maintaining the displayed product firmly adjacent the transparent wall also improves visibility of the product through the transparent wall.